Witness says suspect bragged about murder of Dominique Devlin

COURTHOUSE — In what could prove to be some of the most damning evidence yet against Brendan Pierce, one of his former acquaintances told a jury that Pierce showed him the gun he allegedly used to kill Dominique Devlin, and that “she had it coming.”

In day two of the murder trial of Pierce, Cory Collins, a Commonwealth witness, told a jury of nine women and three men that right after the July 19, 2011 shooting, he bumped into Pierce on the street.

Collins might have given the most telling testimony Thursday when he said Pierce showed him the murder weapon and bragged that he was responsible for the commotion of police activity at the crime scene at Green and Basin streets, just after midnight that July night.

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Pierce is charged with first- second- and third-degree murder in the death of Devlin, Pierce’s 16-year old ex-lover. Prosecutors say Pierce deliberately lured Devlin to a remote location in Norristown and killed her, not long after he learned of her involvement in a robbery at his home earlier in July.

“’Remember when I was robbed? We traced it back to a girl I knew.’ He told me that before they were about to leave, he pulled a gun on her, she put her hands up and started screaming, he shot her, she ran, and he shot her again.”

Defense attorney Richard Tompkins attempted to discredit Collins, citing his current involvement in criminal cases in both Philadelphia and Montgomery counties, the latter with which he had made a deal to testify in this case. Tompkins said Collins did not go to police with the information he allegedly had on Pierce until after he was arrested in Conshohocken on his own unrelated charges.

“You said it was divine intervention,” said Tompkins, of the reason Collins was now willing to testify against Pierce.

“You knew about this crime and you were under the gun. The day of your arrest, you went to police. You only went when you felt you were in trouble.”

According to the terms of a proffer letter, in exchange for Collins’ cooperation with the DA’s office, he would be promised leniency from a Montgomery County sentencing judge when it comes time for his own case to go to trial. Tompkins revealed Collins’ “litany” of charges stemming from an arrest in Conshohocken this year involving assault, reckless endangerment, kidnapping and related offenses.

Assistant District Attorney Nathan Schadler is lead prosecutor on the case. He argued that despite Collins’ criminal past, the evidence was mounting for the jury to see him as a credible witness, telling the truth about what Pierce had confessed to him.

“(Pierce) had an extra layer of clothes underneath. He tried to set them on fire but they wouldn’t catch. So he poured bleach on them. He said he was going to walk around and act normal, like a normal summer night,” said Collins.

“Knowing what I knew, it wasn’t respectful or honorable to know what I knew (and not tell anyone). I have a young daughter, myself.”

Early on Thursday, the Hon. Thomas C. Branca issued a warning to friends and family members of both the victim and the defendant, after learning there had been threats uttered and contentions brewing both inside and outside of the courtroom between the two sides.

Branca said he would hold anyone in contempt of court for causing a disruption, and on the first day of testimony Wednesday, sheriff’s deputies had already ejected several people from the courtroom for disturbances, including snickering at witness testimony and using cellphones.